Bringing the Outdoors In

 

Our lives have never been busier in the fast-paced world we live in. Finding moments of tranquility and relaxation can be even more difficult when you when throw in kids, a career, and other commitments. But finding time for ourselves to relax and recharge is extremely important for our physical, and mental health. 

Connecting with nature and taking time to enjoy spending time outdoors can significantly reduce stress, and improve our mood. But with our commitments and responsibilities that typically keep us indoors, how can we connect with nature from indoors?

Bringing the outdoors in can improve our overall mood and contribute toward a healthier lifestyle. 

Luckily, you don’t need to live next to a lake, beach, or forest to benefit from bringing the outdoors in. You can intentionally design your interior around this concept to aid relaxation.

In this article we discuss the interior design elements that can help you to bring the outdoors into your home and share our top tips and ideas for creating a more serene space.

Sherwin Williams Forever Green paint color

Inspiration From The Surrounding Area

Creating a space that hints towards the outside environment makes a better interior to enjoy. No matter where you are located, you can bring elements of the outside in through your color and home decor choices.

For example, a lakeside home pays homage to serene waves, using sandy colors, and incorporating driftwood into the decor.

For those living in a city, this may appear to be more of a challenge. But you could use elements of your favorite outdoor spaces instead. This could be a local park that features lots of greenery, or your favorite vacation. Use anywhere outdoors where you have felt more relaxed as your inspiration for bringing elements of that into your home.

Natural Elements

One of the easiest ways to bring the outdoors into your home is by adding natural elements into your spaces. This includes using neutral paint colors that reflect the natural elements of the outdoors, and using different light levels to provide flexibility.

Using different wood tones can help to bring a more coastal feel to a space, while wooden decorative pieces can also bring elements of a forest into the home too.

If you’re in the market for new flooring, cork, rubber, and wood, are all great options for adding a natural element from the outdoors, inside the home too.

Where possible, create different lighting levels that reflect your outdoor area. This will help you to feel more connected with the outdoors. Having lights on dimmers can provide flexibility for this, while having different types of lighting in your home can also create this.

Rattan Lanterns

Add a natural element to your home through decorative lanterns! These rattan ones are ideal for adding a natural touch to any space.

Branching Coral

Do you love coastal inspired interiors? Add a decorative piece of coral to inject an element of the outdoors into your home.

Link Wood Objects

Adding wooden elements into your home is a great way of bringing the outdoors in!

Tall Rope Wall Sconce

This wall sconce features natural materials that helps to bring the outdoors into any space!

Greenery

One of our favorite ways of bringing the outdoors into our client’s homes is through greenery! We’re not talking about creating a jungle in your home (unless that’s your preference – then go for it!) but adding a few different indoor plants can help improve the air quality of the space. For those that have a park nearby, this can be a great way to bring elements of that outdoor space into your home.

Green as a color is refreshing and tranquil and great for use in home decor to help create a sense of calm and relaxation. Heavily associated with nature itself, it’s a great way to incorporate some of the outdoors, inside our homes too.

Live Monstera and Planter

Live indoor plants are the perfect way of bringing the outdoors into your home.

Floral Decorative Pillow

Use green colored decorative accessories in your home to bring a sense of tranquility into your spaces.

Indoor Sansevieria Snake Plant

A Sansevieria snake plant is great for purifying the air in your home, and adding some greenery!

Microsuede Decorative Pillow (Set of 2)

The calming tones of green home decor and accessories helps to create a more relaxed feeling space, while also bringing the outdoors in.

Air Quality

You can take the concept of bringing the outdoors in one step further by assessing your indoor air quality. 

Incorporating air purifiers into your home can move pollutants from the air, and improve air quality. These are particularly helpful for those that suffer from allergies.

If you have a HVAC system built into your home, you can upgrade this to advanced HVAC technology to help improve the air quality on a more permanent basis.

Mini Air Purifier

Air purifiers are ideal for those with pets or allergy sufferers as they cleanse the air, and remove any allergens or germs.

Dyson Air Purifier

Another great option is the Dyson air purifier!

Air Purifier

This air purifier covers a larger area that is ideal for open plan spaces in the home. Use this air purifier to improve the air quality in your home!

Personalize Your Space

Would you like a professional interior designer to pull your space together? Contact us for in person interior design services in the Chicagoland area or virtual interior design services anywhere in the world.